


heartbeat

by AppleJuice (capolleon)



Series: 6 weeks [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, lol i don't even remember the books name, post the hidden oracle, there should be more tags but i honestly have nothing left to say
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-24
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2019-04-27 03:35:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14416818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/capolleon/pseuds/AppleJuice
Summary: “Well, Leo, if we think too much then what do youthinkwill happen to us? After all of this?”“I don’t know,” Leo says. “But we’ll figure it out and be okay.”





	heartbeat

**Author's Note:**

> lol literally cried because of the lack of apolleo content and then a few hours later, found this half written doc. was the universe telling me something?
> 
> disclaimer: i don't own pjo and/or any of it's characters
> 
> (have i even done a disclaimer in my last few works lol)
> 
>  **like the rest of the series, could be read as a stand-alone, or could be read a part of the series. lowkey there's really no order to the series, because i'm always rearranging them** *with exception to the last fic which should not exist so idk bru

Calypso is decidedly more cautious about leaning over the edge of a couple-ton dragon flying a couple hundred meters in the air. Apollo, however, is not.

“Watch it,” Calypso pulls him back to stop him from falling to his premature death.

“Stop babying me,” Apollo narrows his eyes and sits forward. He sulks into Leo’s back, who grunts at the sudden weight pushed onto him. “I’m freaking _Apollo_.”

“Correction: you _were_ Apollo.” Calypso sighs and digs her fingers in between Festus’ seating. The warm plates vibrate under her touch. “Now you’re the lucky guy who was saved from death. Consider yourself blessed.”

Apollo turns his head to glare at her. He doesn’t have anything to say to her after that, which Calypso doesn’t entirely mind.

While it’s sometimes pleasurable to poke fun at the other god, Calypso does enjoy her quiet moments. Those moments when she can close her eyes and think about her future off of Ogygia. Where she can take a deep breath and enjoy the feeling of freedom as there’s wind in her hair and the sharp smell of airplane fuel can linger.

“Watch your chin,” Leo warns Apollo when the former god leans forward. Leo’s fiddling with the master controls inside Festus’ neck but he can’t efficiently do it with Apollo’s nosy self peeking over his shoulder.

Calypso thinks the mechanics of Festus are stupid but Leo loves the robot, so she’ll deal. She doesn’t entirely understand his attachment to such things and not towards people (towards _her_ really), but figures that he never truly understood what it’s like to be alone.

“We’re going to have to take a break to eat because Festus is getting low on energy.” As if to agree, the dragon rumbles loudly from the pit of its belly.

They stop on the edge of some highway by a gas station.

Leo is the one who leads them, as he’s the resident human and therefore leader. While it’s Apollo’s quest, it was ultimately decided to avoid Apollo being… _involved_. Last week, Apollo had gotten into an argument with a toddler about taking their tricycle. Calypso would rather face Furies than the wrath of another mother who assumed a gang of teens were kidnapping her child.

“Just grab something to eat,” Leo says off-handedly while bartering with a bored employee over the price of getting gasoline.

Apollo snatches Calypso’s hand and drags her around the little mart. He greedily fills his pockets with candies and trail mix.

“Look at this,” He gestures towards a lit up box. Along its tiny metal shelves are rings covered with pink, brown and white creams. Some of them are naked, while others also have additional specks of color thrown over them. He presses his hands against the glass, practically salivating at the sight. “ _Doughnuts_.”

“What are they?” Calypso suspiciously watches as Apollo opens the box and takes out donuts. He’s filling a white box with 6 of them.

“Doughnuts.”

“Yeah, I know, but what _are_ they?”

“ _Doughnuts.”_ Apollo swipes his hands to rid of crumbs. “You’ve never had one before?”

Calypso’s face flushes. “Er, no.”

“Okay, so like,” Apollo’s face lights up, and Calypso can understand why he was the sun god. They walk along the aisles towards the counter where Leo is still arguing. “Imagine you take the best thing ever, and you make it into a ring. And that’s a doughnut.”

“That makes no sense.”

“Leo!” Apollo slaps down the box. “Explain the doughnuts!”

Leo waves Apollo away. “Hold on, I’m about to get this deal from this snake…”

 

It takes nearly 20 minutes until both Apollo and Calypso start pleading for them to leave. When they do (with Leo giving the cashier a special finger), Festus is waiting patiently for their arrival.

“You’re hungry aren’t you?” Leo goes straight to the head. “Sorry, buddy, but you’re going on a gasoline diet tonight.”

Festus croaks a few times, and Leo taps the machine’s golden nose in response. “Yup, I know- I know. We only have a few weeks left, right? You’ve survived worse.”

“Is it weird,” Apollo slurps from a giant cup that reads BIG GULP, “that Leo cares more about Festus than us?”

“I’m not sure if I want to answer that,” Calypso internally agrees. She slides onto the floor. “Let me try those dough holes.”

“Doughnuts.” Apollo drops the box in her lap and sits next to her. “You can have the white one with sprinkles.”

It’s good. Very good. Oddly good. Calypso is almost mad at how good it is.

“This is-” Calypso takes another miracle circle, “-a gift from the Gods.”

“It’s not that good, but now you’re more American. Soon you’ll get the fat rolls and will be ugly like me.” Apollo grips the slight pudge of his stomach in disgust.

It’s not a big deal. Calypso tells him that, causing an instant recoil.

“I’m _fat_.” Apollo pokes his stomach. “I used to have abs on abs on abs. _Now_ , it’s greasy roll on roll on roll. Freaking hate this body. Freaking hate _Lester Papaderos._ ”

“Papadopoulos,” Calypso corrects. She finds it strange that she is at the point where she is willing to correct Apollo, than rather abandon him in his own mistakes. Oh, how the tables have turned in the past few hundred years- and oh, how disappointingly so.

“I know what it is.” Apollo spits out. “It’s an abomination- a smear of dirt on my name.”

“It’s not that bad.” Leo finally says, making Calypso and Apollo look up. “Oh sweet, you guys got donuts?”

“Uh,” Calypso opens the empty box. “They were very delicious.”

“Eh, I figured.” Leo crosses his legs as he sits down. His hands slap his thighs. “Okay, group, what’re we talking about now?”

“How tired we are of this quest.” Apollo complains. “I just want to go back and sit on my throne and watch _The Real Housewives of Elysium_.”

“You guys have cable in Olympus?” Leo’s mouth creates a small O. “Dude, you have to invite us over sometime so we can marathon something! Do you get Netflix too?”

“Please,” Apollo’s face grows rosy when Leo mentions inviting them over to his home. He distracts the other two from his face by flopping his hand around this way and that. “I get _everything_.”

“Besides a sense of modesty,” Calypso mumbles under her breath. She doesn’t understand much of the idea of television, due to not having it for most her life, but the thought of hanging out with Apollo and Leo after the quest is mildly pleasing. It sends warm jolts in her stomach that makes her hum softly. “What do you plan on doing after we get your master? Besides watching Jumbo TV?”

Apollo shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe go to some cool parties, and chill with the other sun dudes. Probably bother my sister and her Hunters, cause I haven’t done that in a while.”

“I met them once,” Leo mentions. “They don’t like guys, though, so it was kinda real awkward with me and the _ladies_.”

“Yeah, they actually hate me.” Apollo laughs. He pauses and squints at Calypso. “I think they’d like _you_ a lot.”

“Huh,” Leo shifts closer to Calypso. “Yeah, they probably would, babe. Maybe you should join the Hunters. You’ll be immortal and totally kick butt.”

“No way!” Apollo interrupts too fast for Calypso to even open her mouth. “They don’t let you date others. And we would hardly see you!”

“I take it back,” Leo scrunches up his nose. “Don’t join the Hunters.”

“I wasn’t planning on it.” True, the thought has never reached Calypso’s mind, but now that the other two mentioned it, the thought is appealing. She wouldn’t mind being a part of the group of girls. Calypso doesn’t have much against Artemis, and being a part of the Hunters would definitely improve Calypso’s skill and modern knowledge of the world.

“Good,” Apollo nods. “Cool. I mean, if you really _want_ to, I’m not stopping you. But-”

“-Right, yeah, totally!” Leo cuts in. “it’s all up to you, and we respect your decision!”

“I’m not making a decision right now,” Calypso says. “And if I was to make a choice right now, I wouldn’t know which to pick.”

“Well, if you leave, I guess I’ll have to steal Leo away from you,” Apollo grabs Leo, ignoring the demigod’s outcry, and cradles Leo’s head to his chest. The look on his face is odd- almost like he’s _daring_ Calypso to say something. He strokes Leo’s hair lovingly. “And in a few years, we’ll be like, _‘Calypso? Who’s she?_ ’ as we fly around the sky in my convertible.”

Calypso entertains the thought of Apollo and Leo hiding away in Apollo’s Olympus home or Leo’s fantastic Bunker that she’s heard so much of. They would be sharing snacks and watching movies, or Apollo would be watching Leo work, or Leo would pretend to be interested in one of Apollo’s long and egotistical epic poems.

“I think more than a few days with you would make _Leo_ want to join the Hunters with me.”

“Rude.”

Apollo lets Leo go, who rolls his eyes. Leo stretches and fixes his hair. “You two are _such_ great friends.” His eyes shift to the lowering sun. “Come on, we can still get a few hours in of travel.”

Apollo mutters something about being tired, and Leo whispers something about _not wanting to hear it_. Calypso finds herself climbing back on the heated seats of Festus, except this time she’s sitting in the middle of the two males instead of behind them.

“Put up your hair,” Apollo groans before they take off. Calypso rolls her eyes and does so, to which Apollo grumbles a _Thanks_.

“And we’re off!” Leo counts down as Festus’ magnificent wings open. They soar through the sky, filling Calypso with the same unbelievable and awe-inducing energy that she always gets at the starts of the trip.

Purples and reds bleeding into blues and blacks streak the skies at the group heads westward. Tiny sprinklings of stars dust the overhead sky, and despite the fact that they’re above ground, Calypso realizes that she isn’t much closer to reaching them.

The feeling of arms surrounding her middle surprises her. Apollo’s leaning against her back, with his face pressed against her shoulder. She can feel his slow breathing and can feel the steady beat of his heart against her spine.

His heartbeat is so painstakingly humanly slow. When you’re a god, your heart beats faster than a hummingbird's. They need it to be fast- your heart has to provide for a powerful celestial being that uses up so much energy to just exist. Some of the Titans don’t have a heart (Calypso is not accustomed to those silent moments where her heartbeat is startlingly loud), so something about the slow pattern feels so _human_. Perhaps this feeling and moment of being connected is what entices gods to be with humans.

Apollo’s breathing tickles her neck. She’s still not sure why he’s on her in the first place. Festus has been traveling relatively slow so it can’t be because of bumpiness, nor could it be for heat due to the warmth emanating from the robot.

Yet, there are his arms, and there is his body on her.

“Are you…?” Calypso falters. She doesn’t have much of a reason to tell Apollo to get off, because he’s not really bothering her.

“Shh,” Apollo mumbles. He’s so close to her ear that she shivers. The movement makes him hold tighter. “Don’t ever mention this ever again, but you really shouldn’t go with the Hunters.”

Calypso finds it utterly ridiculous that Apollo is worried about this, especially after a conversation that lasted maybe 3 minutes, but she supposes it _is_ something to think about. After the quest, what _does_ Calypso have left?

Leo’s too smart to let his potential waste at camp, and Apollo’s going home. But what’s Calypso supposed to do? She could tag along with Leo but after a while, they’ll get so annoyed with each other that it wouldn’t work out. She could probably hang around Apollo and see if she could get on Zeus’ good side enough to receive some of her abilities or her title back. But if that fails, being around Apollo would make her bitter over the life she couldn’t have back.

… Calypso might _have_ to join the Hunters, as that’s her best bet.

She supposes that Apollo might be a little too perceptive sometimes. She also supposes that right now, with him holding her to provide comfort she didn’t need, _this_ is one of those times.

“I won’t,” Calypso doesn’t know why she does it, but she promises him this.

“Good,” Apollo smiles into her neck. “Besides, Hunters don’t get to have random donut runs.”

“Well, now I’m definitely not joining.”

Calypso leans forward against Leo. As Apollo presses his weight into her, she gets heavier and relies on Leo for support.

Leo jumps. “Are you okay?” He accepts the weight of the other two with ease. Calypso’s hands slide across Leo’s body to where she’s hugging his chest to her. She looks over his shoulder (almost as nosy as Apollo earlier) to look at what he was doing.

He flicks away the small screen before she can see it, but it’s too late. Calypso recognizes the two people in the image as Leo’s best friends Jason and Piper. She’s never met them in person but has heard stories and seen them in Leo’s memories. Do they even know Leo is alive and well?

She doesn’t mention seeing the image and kisses his shoulder. She hasn’t been the greatest girlfriend, and she doubts she’s doing what Leo might’ve expected from her. However, he never comments on it or told her she’s doing anything wrong.

Apollo feels unsettlingly heavier against her.

Leo asks her again. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Calypso says. “Just thinking.”

“You too, huh?” Leo rubs her hands with his thumbs. “This group thinks _way_ too much. I think it’s going to kill us one of these days, and we won’t notice because we’ll be too busy thinking.”

“Wow. Are these the interesting trademarked Valdez thoughts that normally come into your brain?” Calypso asks.

“Something like that.” Calypso hears the smile. Her forehead falls on his shoulder. Is Apollo asleep? Calypso feels like she might fall asleep, with the warmth from Apollo behind and Leo in front. She too comfortable for any of this to be real.

“Well, Leo, if we think too much then what do you _think_ will happen to us? After all of this?”

“I don’t know,” Leo says. “But we’ll figure it out and be okay.”

“Yeah,” Calypso echoes. He sounds so sure of himself. It might be the better answer for her as of right now to all of her questions. She repeats him, if only to absorb the power and safety felt when Leo had said it.“We _will_ figure it out. And everything will be fine.”

And Calypso believes it. She honestly believes it, because she _trusts_ them. Maybe she will go with the Hunters. Maybe Apollo will be a god and never come back. Maybe Leo will stay with Jason and Piper.

Or maybe none of that will happen.

It doesn’t matter- it _shouldn’t matter_. ‘Cause they’ll figure it out. One way or another they’ll get it together.

And find themselves getting right back where they started.

**Author's Note:**

> apparently, this is my first fic of 2018, and i'm so disappointed in myself for not getting my ass in gear.
> 
> nevertheless, to those of you who are still reading my fics, and the apollo/calypso/leo (capolleo) series, i _swear_ i'm going to stop talking about apollo/calypso (capollo), idk why i've only been doing that so far. smh, if these series ends up being more than 50k and i still don't talk about any other dynamics, you guys can take over my account lol.
> 
> (oh, and here's a bright idea!!!! why don't i write the fics **in order of which they occur in the series.** lol i want d e a t h for doing this to myself)
> 
>  **edit:** lol thanks @[Slayester](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slayester) for catching my mistake! also, capollo is a wonderful pairing name for calypso/apollo, and i would gladly use it next time i reference them!!!! :)  
>  anyway, thank you for reading this!!!!! have a nice day!!!! :)


End file.
